How To Remove Grease From Khakis

Dear Home Ec 101,
Help oh great home ec goddesses! I was making breakfast for the kids, and didn’t have my tried and true apron on. As I am sure you guessed, I got grease on my favorite go to khakis. HELP!!!!!!! I need guidance! Thanks for all of your great tips.
Signed,Greasy in Gallatin

Ivy says:

When I worked at the auto repair shop, I was introduced to the miracle that is Simple Green. Not only is it one of the best degreasers I have ever used, but it’s nontoxic, biodegradable, and not stinky. I used it to clean the grease off my shoes and clothes that always gets on ya when you work around cars.

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Later, I married a restaurant manager who brought home the grease all over his clothing, and Simple Green worked wonders again. My darling restaurant manager doesn’t bring home so much grease anymore, but since I’m a messy cook, Simple Green is still my best pal.

For your khakis, just spray Simple Green directly onto the stain and wash as usual. Make sure the grease stains are gone before you put it in the dryer, but chances are good that they’ll be fabulous once again. Thanks for the great question!

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Depending on the amount of grease on your clothing a simple dishwashing detergent may not do the trick. You need a dry cleaning solvent to break down the oil. If the detergent is water based, forget it. Oil and water do no not mix and water based detergents definately will not remove the grease. Use the dry cleaning solvent, then move onto the dishwashing detergent to remove any residue.

I wonder if my mother found out about Simple Green while my father was a grease monkey (mechanic for you uninitiated). It also works really well on getting mildew/mold stains out of fabric. We had our garage flood when there was a major rainstorm, and our couch cushions were sitting on the floor of the garage. The mildew was discovered probably a week or so after the rain (we didn’t realize it had flooded the inside). But simple green got the mildew spots and smell out.

When I got tractor grease on my favorite sweatshirt what I found to work (after the grease had already been washed and dried in in the laundry) was I took a bar of plain old white handwashing soap, wet the stain, rubbed the soap in really well, then rinsed the soap out in hot water from the inside of the shirt out though the stain. I have also used this for food grease stains and found it to work really well.

I use dawn, preferably the foaming one. Works awesome, and I always have it in the house. I have gotten spots out of my sons shirt, when it was time for my younger son to wear it. So after about 2 years of sitting and many washings.

My husband, who worked as a motorcycle mechanic in his youth, told me never to use GoJo as a washing solution that will go down the drain – only to blot it with paper towels and discard. Apparently, the goo sticks to the insides of pipes and can cause a clog to form. This would be particularly important if you have a septic system.

I use GooGone (for stickier stains) or Bissell laundry spray (for oilier stains) and get good results. I’m horribly allergic to Simple Green!

I ‘ve also found Simple Green to be a great product. It smells very natural and sort of minty. The scent is not offensive or overly strong. It also takes out some of our worst stains. We sometimes use it on the white plastic outdoor furniture and mesh type lawnchairs. It works wonders.